Until they returned home after finishing dinner at CEO Park Chan Wook’s house, Green and Sun Woo were lost in their own thoughts.

As expected, today’s dinner was not purely a family gathering.

Jin Young Cheol, who had been planning against Han Moon Taek all year, was finally ready to counterattack. Moreover, In Young’s last words felt unusual.

“Does saying you have no intention of entering politics mean you’ll stay at K1 Construction?”

“Yes.”

“I hope that thought doesn’t change.”

Sun Woo was bothered throughout by In Young’s words, which seemed to hide some implied meaning beyond what was apparent on the surface.

On the other hand, Green was terrified after receiving what felt like an outright threat from Park Chan Wook.

Though he looked at her pityingly, the words that came out of Park Chan Wook’s mouth were not ordinary.

“From now on, I’m going to make things difficult for you. But don’t hate me too much.”

Who wouldn’t be scared when the CEO of a large corporation declares his intention to deliberately torment you?

And to even say not to hate him!

Green felt wronged, thinking that as the weaker party who would clearly be victimized, she didn’t even have the freedom to hate the person tormenting her.

As night fell, another crisis came upon her.

After finishing a quick shower in the bathroom, Green sat in front of the vanity and spent quite a long time patting skin toner and lotion onto her face.

Sun Woo, like on the first day of his return, was occupying the inner side of the bed, leaning against the headboard reviewing documents.

After Green’s declaration of separate rooms failed, the two eventually agreed to use the same room. They were even sharing the bed.

“I absolutely will not engage in any behavior that could result in a child between us. I swear on my honor as a man. If Green gets excited and tries to pounce on me, I’ll bite down on a dagger…”

“Oh, stop it!”

In truth, considering that Sun Woo had suddenly kissed her forehead while carrying her to the master bedroom, she couldn’t 100% trust that promise either.

Such an impulsive action was an unexpected variable even he hadn’t anticipated, and there was no guarantee such variables wouldn’t occur again in the future.

But Sun Woo kept his mouth shut about that.

Green also pretended not to notice, not wanting to appear hung up on something he was ignoring. It seemed petty to nitpick every little bit of skinship and question whether she could trust him or not.

Above all, she had no grounds to keep refusing when Sun Woo was swearing on his honor as a man. From her experience so far, Sun Woo was someone who kept his word to the letter.

But no matter how well his words and actions aligned, lying in the same bed was still a tense affair every time.

So without realizing it, Green was taking her time washing her face, drying her hair, and meticulously applying basic skincare, postponing going to bed as long as possible.

“Green, stop patting your face and come to bed. You’ll burst all the blood vessels in your face at this rate.”

Green snapped back to her senses at Sun Woo’s words. She had been patting so forcefully and continuously that her face was flushed red.

“They say you should pat a thousand times for skincare products to absorb well into the skin.”

Green made an excuse that even she found unconvincing and quietly approached Sun Woo’s side.

As she carefully lay down on the edge of the bed, Sun Woo put down the documents he was reading on the bedside table and turned off the reading lamp.

The bedroom was quickly plunged into darkness, but Sun Woo remained sitting without lying down.

“Green, did CEO Park Chan Wook say anything unusual to you?”

“Actually, he said something strange and scary.”

Sun Woo chuckled in disbelief at Green’s words. He knew that Park Chan Wook was quite fond of Green.

But when she relayed everything Park Chan Wook had said, Sun Woo’s expression turned serious. When he turned the reading lamp back on, Green squinted as if the light was too bright.

“Did the CEO really say that?”

“Yes. At first I thought it was a joke, but looking at his eyes, it wasn’t. He looked at me pityingly but at the same time was incredibly cold.”

“Haa…”

Having known Park Chan Wook for many years, Sun Woo realized that everything Green said was true. When Park Chan Wook had that look in his eyes, it was when he was about to make an extremely important move.

“When I said I wouldn’t enter politics and would stay at K1 Construction, the vice chairman said this. He hopes that thought doesn’t change.”

“Do you think what your grandfather said to me and what your mother said to you are related?”

“I’m not sure…”

Sun Woo, lost in thought for a moment, quietly looked down at Green.

With only the reading lamp on, Green unconsciously swallowed as Sun Woo gazed at her.

“Green. If the CEO moves directly, something quite big could happen.”

“I suppose so.”

“We’ll need to be mentally prepared.”

“Yes.”

“Would it be alright if I hugged you?”

“What? Now?”

Green asked, startled. Sun Woo also seemed surprised and hurriedly waved his arms.

“No, I mean later when you’re having a really hard time, when you’re struggling and scared. Then…”

Green, suddenly relaxed, burst out laughing. Sun Woo also smiled helplessly at her laughter.

“Sun Woo tends to speak briefly, so sometimes it’s easy to misunderstand if you don’t know the context.”

“Is that so?”

Having never received such feedback before, Sun Woo was taken aback. Honestly, there hadn’t been anyone to point that out to him until now.

In Young was someone who spoke just as briefly, and his father Jin Young Cheol was someone who only said what he wanted to say.

“I’ll try to work on it.”

Green smiled broadly again at Sun Woo’s words.

“I agree with trying, but it won’t be easy. It’s probably a habit that’s solidified for over 30 years.”

“That’s true.”

“Instead, if I misunderstand like today, correct me right away. Don’t just leave me misunderstanding.”

“Alright, I’ll do that.”

Silence fell between Sun Woo and Green again. This time it was a fairly comfortable silence.

“I’m turning off the light.”

Sun Woo reached out and turned off the reading lamp again. The bedroom was once more plunged into darkness.

With the tension, each other’s breathing sounded louder, and focusing on those sounds seemed to make sleep even more elusive.

After a while, Green turned to lie facing Sun Woo, who was lying straight. Though his eyes were closed, Sun Woo could feel Green’s gaze on his face.

“Can’t sleep?”

Sun Woo finally gave up on falling asleep and turned to face Green. It seemed her business wasn’t finished yet.

Even in the darkness, he could clearly see her plump lips hesitantly and carefully fidgeting.

Just as he was starting to feel impatient wondering what she was going to say, Green, who had been biting her lip for a moment, shyly opened her mouth.

“You said earlier, didn’t you? That when I’m struggling and scared, you want to hug me then…”

“Yes.”

“Then, would you hug me now?”

Surprised by Green’s unexpected request, Sun Woo raised his upper body slightly.

He was confused whether Green was doing this because she was really scared, or if she was testing to see if he would keep his promise to bite down on a dagger even if she pounced on him first.

On the other hand, he hoped Green wasn’t the kind of person to test him in a situation like this.

“Are you very scared?”

“Yes, when I close my eyes to sleep, I keep seeing your grandfather’s piercing gaze. I’m so scared.”

Green’s voice was indeed slightly tinged with fear.

Even K1 Construction executives who had been through thick and thin said their knees shook on days they faced Park Chan Wook’s fierce gaze.

He could well imagine how shocked the still innocent and trusting Green must have been when she directly met the eyes of Park Chan Wook wearing the face of the ruthless K1 Construction CEO.

Sun Woo, who had been quietly watching her, slowly spread his arms. Green entered his embrace without hesitation.

As he hugged her tightly, her slightly trembling shoulders gradually calmed. Her words about being scared were not a lie.

“Don’t worry too much. No matter what big thing happens, we can get through it together.”

Green nodded vigorously and smiled brightly. Even in the darkness, her smile shone.

Sun Woo tightened his arms around Green again and buried his face in her hair.

Her sweet scent seemed to calm his anxiety as well. It seemed his nerves had also been on edge unconsciously.

The two fell asleep like that, relying on each other and holding each other tightly.

*****

Monday morning, Shilla Newspaper, a competitor of Goryeo Daily, ran an exclusive scoop on its front page.

“K1 Construction Director Jin Sun Woo revealed to be former congressman Jin Young Cheol’s love child”

“K1 Construction succession plan shrouded in fog”

“Netizens praise Vice Chairman Park In Young as a ‘living bodhisattva'”

TV broadcasts and internet newspapers that missed the scoop repeatedly published articles quoting Shilla Newspaper, and reporters began frantically calling Sun Woo for follow-up coverage.

Green’s phone was no exception. Somehow reporters were ghostly accurate in their attempts to contact Green, Sun Woo’s wife.

“Sun Woo, what does all this mean?”

Green was too shocked by the bombshell that Sun Woo was Jin Young Cheol’s love child.

Green had always thought Sun Woo resembled his mother Park In Young more than his father Jin Young Cheol. But In Young wasn’t his birth mother!

“Remember when we talked on the phone the night before meeting the parents? I told you then that there was no way I would inherit K1 Construction.”

“Ah!”

Green nodded vigorously as if she had just had a great realization.

Green’s father, Han Moon Taek, had expected that Sun Woo, In Young’s only son, would naturally inherit K1 Construction.

But if Sun Woo was a son Jin Young Cheol had through an affair, then to Park Chan Wook and Park In Young, Sun Woo was a complete stranger with no blood relation. Even to Green, it didn’t seem likely they would pass K1 Construction on to him.

Realizing that such meaning was implied in Sun Woo’s words, Green asked again.

“Then is all of this true?”

“Yes. It’s true.”

“Oh my goodness!”

Looking back, Sun Woo had always called his mother and maternal grandfather ‘Vice Chairman’ and ‘CEO’.

She felt so foolish for just accepting such unnatural terms of address without questioning.

Looking at the two phones ringing nonstop, Sun Woo silently turned off both his and Green’s phones.

Just then, the doorbell rang suddenly.

“Who could be visiting at this early hour? Surely not reporters?”

“If it were reporters, the apartment security team wouldn’t have let them through.”

Green, who checked who rang the doorbell through the security window, was shocked by the appearance of a completely unexpected person.